Given how it has remained in the memory, it seems amazing that it is eight years since BRB danced David Bintley’s “Edward II” in the UK, and ten years since it was last seen in Birmingham. From the showing the company gave us on the first night of their new season the work has lost none of its impact and power.

Loosely based on Marlowe’s sixteenth-century play and set against a war-ravaged England torn by divisions where much of the real power was held by the barons, the ballet centres around Edward’s relationship with Piers Gaveston; a relationship. It opens with the funeral procession of Edward I, a dark and gloomy scene as black-cloaked figures follow the coffin. The back of Peter Davison’s clever set suddenly opens to reveal the new king’s coronation and the arrival of his formerly banished lover. Despite Edward’s joy, the reaction of the rest of the court tells us that this is all only going to end one way.

Iain Mackay as Edward and Martin Harvey as Gaveston, the latter guesting for the autumn season, gave impressive performances as the doomed lovers. While their duets in Act I reveal their love for each other, perhaps what comes over most is their sense of fun and happiness just being in each other’s company. During those duets Bintley’s clever use of recognisable male-female partnering techniques only serves to emphasise that this relationship is different. Mackay especially laid his passion and emotion bare for all to see. By the end of Act II he truly seemed completely drained, emotionally and physically.

Just like the England of the times, Edward is heavily male dominated. So male dominated that there is only one significant female role. But what a role. Although the ballet has its roots in the relationship between the two men, Edward’s queen, Isabella, is integral to the story. Elisha Willis freely admits to preferring the sort of role she can really get her teeth into, and in “Edward” it shows. Her characterisation of Isabella is superb as she moves from being a wife who simply wants her husband, and very much the victim, to someone hell bent on revenge, even at one point prepared to hold a sword to her son’s neck to get what she wants.

Isabella’s freezing out of the king’s life is demonstrated as he dances with Gaveston while she, attended by her maid, looks on from a distance. Although he occasionally shows a hint of feeling something for his wife, he leaves us in no doubt where his true feelings lie. When she does try to intervene she is repelled again and again, Edward and Gaveston eventually throwing her around like a rag doll in an incredibly physical and emotional pas de trois as they try to rid themselves of this unwanted third person in their relationship.

It says a great deal about Bintley’s storytelling and Mackay and Willis’ interpretations that we start out feeling sorry for Isabella, yet by the end there has been something of a shift. As Isabella changes and the story evolves, so do our sympathies. When Edward is chased, captured, tortured and finally put to death, you just can’t help feeling for him. Like everyone in the story, he is a victim of his own feelings. These changes are cleverly reflected in Jasper Conran’s medievally modern costumes. Isabella for example moves from soft dresses to something with a much harder feel, and in a deep red that reflects the blood that has flowed and that is still to come.

The ballet closes with another dark funeral procession, this time Edward II’s, and his son, Edward III sitting on the throne. But at his shoulder is the figure of death, and you just know that it is all going to start all over again.

The excellence was not restricted to the main roles. The black leather clad barons led by Dominic Antonnuci as Mortimer, were truly menacing and left us in no doubt where they thought the true power in the land was. Indeed, the whole company looked on superb form. It’s not a pretty ballet, and definitely not one for most kids, but it is one not to miss.

“Edward II” continues on tour to London (Sadler’s Wells), Sunderland (Empire) and Plymouth (Theatre Royal) during October. See above for dates or check http://www.brb.org.uk.

If “Edward II”, the first half of BRB’s autumn offering was a ballet for the company’s men, the mixed programme certainly gave the ladies a chance to shine. Marketed as ‘Strictly Dancing’, it appears at first sight a rather odd mix. Petipa, Tharp and Ashton; nineteenth-century Russia, a ballroom and Mediterranean Greece, is not the most obvious combination but the programme worked surprisingly well, and was certainly enjoyed by the audience.

For many in Birmingham the highlight was the final piece of the three, the company’s first production of Ashton’s 1951 version of “Daphnis and Chloe”, only previously danced in Britain by The Royal Ballet. The ballet tells the story of Daphnis’ love for Chloe, his battle with Dorkon for her affection, her capture by pirates and subsequent rescue by Pan. All rather far-fetched, but no more so than many other works. While being historically interesting, it does however look of its time and can seem rather dated to modern eyes.

The Saturday matinee gave us the first chance to see Natasha Oughtred in a leading role for the company. A recent capture from The Royal Ballet, Oughtred never put a foot wrong and gave a delightfully assured performance as Chloe, but it would have been nice to have seen a little more connection with her lover, here danced by Chi Cao. It just all seemed rather cold. despite the Mediterranean feel helped enormously by John Craxton’s powerfully evocative sets. Hardly surprising perhaps, Craxton having lived on and around the Greek islands for many years. Oughtred did however show more than enough to suggest she will be a real asset to BRB. The villains were rather more convincing, especially Tom Rogers’ as the swarthy Dorkon and Ambra Vallo’s sexy portrayal of Lykanion.

‘Strictly Dancing’ opened with Galina Samsova’s production of “Paquita”, with all the glamour and spectacle of the Russian court. The corps seemed occasionally uncertain, but Jenna Roberts in the lead showed a beautiful line, and excellent technique and artistry. Her turns and the long series of fouettés were all very nicely executed indeed. Roberts was excellently partnered by the ever-reliable Robert Tewsley, who leapt and turned with great assurance. Tewsley is presently guesting for the autumn season, but let us hope he stays so we can enjoy his stately presence in BRB’s performances of Swan Lake early next year.

For once, the lightest ballet of the three came in the middle. And BRB’s dancers really do seem to carry off Twyla Tharp’s “Nine Sinatra Songs” better and better. It might be easy on the eyes and ears but it is not an easy work to dance. I remember when it was first danced by the company fifteen months ago that many of the awkward lifts in it looked very awkward indeed. Now, it suits them like a glove. This season, comings and goings in the company give us the chance to see some new pairings. Everyone looked so good and at home that it seems a little unfair to pick out individuals, but Tyrone Singleton was his usual wonderful laid back self with Victoria Marr in “One for My Baby”, and Chi Cao showed us another side to his talents with Angela Paul in “That’s Life”. Highlight without a doubt though was Mimoko Hirata, who was quite simply spellbinding as she was wheeled around in Alexander Campbell’s assured arms in the opening “Softly as I Leave You”.

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, excellent as usual, was conducted by Barry Wordsworth.

Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced that principal dancer Dominic Antonucci will be retiring from full length classical roles following the forthcoming Swan Lake season.

According an artcile on the company website, he is "very, very hard" on himself with the classical roles, and finds them harder and harder to get right. Injuries have also taken their toll. He explains that he has had no fewer than two operations on each knee, six stress fractures on his right shin, and eight on his left.

Although he is leaving the classics behind, he will continue to dance with the company in other works including Balanchine and Bintley.

Antonnuci joined the Company in 1994 and has performed most of the Company's repertory, creating numerous roles in new works. He has also taught company class and worked extensively with the company's Department for Learning, helping to teach young people.

It’s ballet and the theatre is pretty much sold out. Yes, you guessed it; “Swan Lake” is back in town. BRB’s Peter Wright and Galina Samsova production has now been around for almost 27 years, but it remains a huge draw, and a chance for more than a few in the audience to revel in romanticism and dream.

But to really live that dream, and for any narrative ballet to really come alive, the central figures need to convey not only the story, but their personalities and all those little things that really make us believe. This is where Nao Sakuma really shines. Indeed, she has blossomed into probably the best actress in the company. Not only did she give us a technically flawless performance, she gave us two very different characters. Her Odette was beautifully demure and delicate. She was truly the perfect girl imprisoned in a spell from which there is no escape. Her Odile could not have been more of a contrast and was about as bright and up front as you can get. She wanted to snare Siegfried in the trap and there was no doubt that she would get her man.

But for whatever reason, Sakuma’s sparkle somehow failed to completely ignite the performance. Whether Chi Cao’s Siegfried was still preoccupied by his father’s death, who knows, but her certainly seemed to have his mind elsewhere. His dancing was as technically excellent as ever, but all too often the expression was lacking. He just didn’t seem interesting as a person and only really came alive during the black swan pas de deux, and a very real conversation he had with Benno at the beginning of Act 1. When with Odette,it was difficult to believe he was truly amazed by and in love with her.

Continuing with the theme of coldness, perhaps the production is not helped by Philip Prowse’s designs. The ballroom is very sumptuous dressed in its reds and golds, but the lakeside is a very dark place indeed. While this does emphasise the sinister side of the ballet, and that is a side we must not forget, does it need to be quite so forbidding?

The two principals were well backed up an excellent corps that looked to be right on form; Jonathan Payn’s dark without being over the top, and in the end vulnerable Rothbart; and Kosuke Yamomoto’s very believable Benno. Yamomoto’s recent performances have not only oozed character but showed he has the technique to go with it. Here, he gave us a number of precision multiple turns, each rock solid and each stopped on a sixpence.

Despite the misgivings, the Birmingham audience lapped it up. They even got the “aaaahhhh” right on cue as the curtain rose on Act 4 to reveal the misty lakeside. And the company certainly got a rousing ovation at the end, before we all trooped back out into Birmingham’s icy night, and off home, some at least I’m sure to dream of swans, princes and princesses.

The company were accompanied by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, conducted by Paul Murphy.

David Bintley is creating a new ballet, "Aladdin", to be premiered in Japan on Novemebr 15, 2008.

Bintley said that ever since staging "Carmina burana" there a couple of years ago he has been looking for something else to collaborate on. The ballet will use an existing Carl Davis ballet score, although it has been reworked and some new music added. Bintley said, "While not a tremendous success when it had its original premiere, I think it is a terrific score and very thrilling for me and something which seems to chime with what the ballet of the New National Theatre in Japan want, so I'm very excited about that."

In many ways the title “Simply Jazz” doesn’t really do justice to David Bintley’s latest programme of jazz ballets. Jazz it might be, but simple it certainly isn’t. Bintley has long had a love of jazz music, inherited in part from his father, who had a huge jazz collection and played in a jazz band that sometimes used to rehearse in their lounge. He thought his previous jazz programme, which included “The Nutcracker Sweeties” alongside “Shakespeare” and “Orpheus” was too high powered. His solution was to create a new work to Dave Brubeck’s catchy tunes. The result is an evening of three ballets clearly linked, yet equally clearly different, and on the whole entertaining.

First seen on the company’s small-scale tour of the South-west in 2007, “Take Five” is elegant, yet at the same time light-hearted, cool and laid back. With music provided by a jazz quartet, it’s certainly as contrast to the percussion and big band sounds of the other two works. The work opens with Brubeck’s 1959 hit of the same name, in an unusual 5/4 time and which with its ‘can get it out of you head’ sax melody was the first jazz instrumental to sell a million copies. Bintley uses five dancers (what else?); four boys who dance together around a square, and girl who appears later to dance with each in turn.

Further short dances follow, each with its own mood, before everyone in the cast of ten comes together for the finale danced to “Double Take”. They all showed great energy and enthusiasm throughout while equally managing to display the cut glass precision much of Bintley’s choreography calls for. Joseph Caley was especially impressive in “Flying Solo”, which calls for him to athletically cover every part of the stage. Pick of the bunch though were Jenna Roberts and Dominic Antonucci in “Two Step”, a pas de deux where they softly flirt with each other, not really coming together until the very end.

The laid back nature of the piece is helped along by a simple backcloth and equally easy on the eye costumes. Just like the choreography, Jean-Marc Puissant’s creations look deceptively simple with their very subtle colours; the men in casual trousers and T-shirts, and the ladies in late 1950s-style dresses.

“The Orpheus Suite” was inspired by the life and works of Duke Ellington, Bintley drawing parallels with his life and the seamier side of jazz. Danced to a specially commissioned score by Colin Towns, Bintley’s ballet still follows the Greek myth as we follow Orpheus into the underworld in search of his beloved Eurydice, while giving it a very 1950s feel. Iain Mackay, about to leave the company for a new venture in Spain, made for a suitably lost Orpheus, while Elisha Willis was the innocent lost in Bintley’s vice-laden version of the underworld. Best characterisation of all though came from Tyrone Singleton as a nasty-looking Aristaeus.

The programme was completed by “The Shakespeare Suite” danced to seven sections from Ellington’s tribute to Shakespeare, “Such Sweet Thunder”. Bintley brings to life many of the best known Shakespeare characters in a series of vignettes including Hamlet, Bottom and Titania, Othello and Desdemona, Romeo and Juliet. For me, they don’t all work, but of those that do, Ambra Vallo was a delightfully daffy Titania, and Tyrone Singleton, a menacing Othello, while Jamie Bond and Natasha Oughtred made for nicely matched star crossed lovers.

The music for the programme was provided by the wonderful Colin Town's Mask Orchestra.

Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced the promotions of three of it's dancers.

Samara Downs and Kit Holder have been promoted to First Artist, and Victoria Marr is now a First Soloist.

Victoria Marr joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1996, rising to First Artist in 1998 and Soloist in 2003. She appeared recently in The Orpheus Suite, having created the role of one of the Moisturisers, and in Swan Lake as leading Swan.

Samara Downs joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2003, and was recently seen in The Orpheus Suite as one of the Moisturisers, a role which she created in 2004.

Kit Holder joined the Company in 2000. As well as performing, he has created ballets including the excellent Small Worlds, which features in this year's spring tour of the South-West.

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